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'Drug Ring' Bilks FBI Of $150K....
alledan
Member Posts: 19,541
taxpayer is more like it!
(CBS/AP) An FBI informer has been charged with setting up a bogus drug ring and then collecting more than $150,000 from the Bureau to investigate the "ring."
The informer and two other men charged with the scam are also accused of attempting to frame Willie T. Hulon, the head of the FBI's Detroit office, by falsely claiming that Hulon was giving confidential information to the supposed drug ring.
The government said the informer, Myron "Big Man" Strong, 34, got the money from the FBI to purchase drugs from the ring and other expenses he incurred. Two other men allegedly involved in the scam, Andre Boone, 26, and Richard K. Ready, 32, read from scripts while the FBI listened in on their conversations with Strong.
It was at these sessions that the suspects discussed drug deals and allegedly made false claims about Hulon, who was relieved of his duties in Detroit earlier this month. Hulon was reinstated on Friday.
"These allegations were the product of a criminal scheme to tarnish Hulon's hard-earned reputation as an exceptional special agent and leader in the FBI," FBI Director Robert Mueller said in a written statement.
The FBI apparently relied on these staged conversations in its case against Ali and Hassan Farhat, two brothers who were arrested Jan. 19 on drug trafficking charges and whom the government also said it suspected of ties to the Hezbollah terrorist group.
The Farhat brothers were released Tuesday, after prosecutors withdrew their request to detain them until their trial. On Wednesday, the complaint against them was dismissed, said Gina Balaya, a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office in Detroit.
The complaint against the Farhat's alleged that the brothers were members of a drug ring that also included two traffickers by the same names Ready and Boone were using and includes information from their conversations. It also includes information from an informant, referred to at one point as "Big Man," which, according to the complaint against Strong, is Strong's alias.
Strong's lawyer, Henry Scharg, did not respond to a telephone message seeking comment.
Special Agent Dawn Clenney, a spokeswoman for the FBI in Detroit, would not comment on Strong's role in the Farhat case.
The Detriot News reported that the Justice Department was expected to issue a report in the next few months critcizing the Detroit office's handling of informers.
(CBS/AP) An FBI informer has been charged with setting up a bogus drug ring and then collecting more than $150,000 from the Bureau to investigate the "ring."
The informer and two other men charged with the scam are also accused of attempting to frame Willie T. Hulon, the head of the FBI's Detroit office, by falsely claiming that Hulon was giving confidential information to the supposed drug ring.
The government said the informer, Myron "Big Man" Strong, 34, got the money from the FBI to purchase drugs from the ring and other expenses he incurred. Two other men allegedly involved in the scam, Andre Boone, 26, and Richard K. Ready, 32, read from scripts while the FBI listened in on their conversations with Strong.
It was at these sessions that the suspects discussed drug deals and allegedly made false claims about Hulon, who was relieved of his duties in Detroit earlier this month. Hulon was reinstated on Friday.
"These allegations were the product of a criminal scheme to tarnish Hulon's hard-earned reputation as an exceptional special agent and leader in the FBI," FBI Director Robert Mueller said in a written statement.
The FBI apparently relied on these staged conversations in its case against Ali and Hassan Farhat, two brothers who were arrested Jan. 19 on drug trafficking charges and whom the government also said it suspected of ties to the Hezbollah terrorist group.
The Farhat brothers were released Tuesday, after prosecutors withdrew their request to detain them until their trial. On Wednesday, the complaint against them was dismissed, said Gina Balaya, a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office in Detroit.
The complaint against the Farhat's alleged that the brothers were members of a drug ring that also included two traffickers by the same names Ready and Boone were using and includes information from their conversations. It also includes information from an informant, referred to at one point as "Big Man," which, according to the complaint against Strong, is Strong's alias.
Strong's lawyer, Henry Scharg, did not respond to a telephone message seeking comment.
Special Agent Dawn Clenney, a spokeswoman for the FBI in Detroit, would not comment on Strong's role in the Farhat case.
The Detriot News reported that the Justice Department was expected to issue a report in the next few months critcizing the Detroit office's handling of informers.